


What Friends Do

by Jericho Quinn (JackAnthonySylverwind)



Series: PLL: After Dark [1]
Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: Fluff and Smut, M/M, after the time jump, but not really, kinda sad, overly concerned Caleb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:26:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23812279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackAnthonySylverwind/pseuds/Jericho%20Quinn
Summary: After their respective breakups, Caleb and Toby become each other's lifelines.
Relationships: Toby Cavanaugh/Caleb Rivers
Series: PLL: After Dark [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715653
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	What Friends Do

**Author's Note:**

> essentially, I wrote this after rewatching that episode where Spencer made a joke about whatever it was that Toby and Caleb were up to at the cabin and wondering if they ever did hook up, considering how queer friendly the PLL verse was\is. hope you enjoy!

Caleb and Toby become each other’s lifelines after their respective break ups. 

  
For Caleb, losing Hanna is like losing the last bit of him that was stuck in Rosewood. He goes through spams of grief at first, mourning the death of his most meaningful relationship, but also the demise of the only safe place to land he’s ever had. It’s a hard, earthshattering process, but he goes through it. He has to.

  
Then, after several months, things begin to shift, move into more positive territory, almost as if by magic. The end of his relationship, though, seems to bring with it something Caleb hadn’t been expecting at all: freedom. Hanna was, without a doubt, the love of his life, but…the moment Caleb stops worrying about keeping things perfect and together for her, for the sake of their relationship, things seem to click for him. 

  
His tech business starts to flourish, people from all walks of life reaching out to him from all over the world in hopes of getting the state of the art firewall system Caleb designed in a particularly melancholy afternoon-just for fun, to cheer himself up-for their various companies.

  
With Lucas’s help, the negotiations go well. His software transforms into money, seemingly in the blink of an eye, and suddenly, Caleb has a newfound sense of stability, unlike anything he’s ever known. Not even his years with Hanna post their escape from Rosewood can compare.

  
For Toby, however, things get a bit worse before they get better. Breaking up with Spencer rocks him to the core, to the point where he leaves the force and moves semi permanently into his cabin in the woods. He throws himself back into carpentry, architecture and working with his hands. It helps, he tells Caleb over the phone. Keeps him busy when his demons decide to come out to play. And that they do, more often than he’d like. More often than Caleb would like.

  
The idea of Caleb coming over and spending some time with Toby at the cabin arises during a conversation where Caleb grows more and more worried about Toby’s state of mind. 

  
“I mean, you don’t have to stay long, it’s just…,” Toby goes silent for a bit, and Caleb worries that his friend, his brother, is doing worse than he thought he was. Before he can ask, in his usual direct manner, Toby goes on talking. “I thought spending some time together would help. I miss you.”

  
That’s all Toby has to say. Within hours, Caleb is getting on a plane, flying back to Rosewood from the home that he’s made for himself in New York. He spends the entire flight worrying about Toby, hoping that his friend just sounded off. That he isn’t as submerged in grief as Caleb perceived him to be.

  
The moment Caleb sees Toby, though, he realizes how bad things really are. Toby’s there when Caleb arrives at the airport, the hacker’s already bags with him. He looks disgruntled, with deep dark circles under his eyes and a beard that makes Toby seem years older. It’s not a bad look, Caleb thinks to himself, not at all. But the difference is palpable. 

  
“Hey, man,” Toby says, and offers Caleb a small, weary smile. It almost breaks his heart.

  
“Hey, dude! Come here, you wolf man, you!” Caleb jokes, feeling effusive suddenly, as if needing to counter Toby’s low with his own high. He takes Toby in his arms, gives the carpenter a bear hug. It takes Toby by surprise, but he hugs Caleb back, and soon enough they’re both laughing, cracking jokes and throwing Caleb’s bags in the back of Toby’s truck.

  
“I’m so glad you could come,” Toby says as they drive away from the airport and proceed to get on the road. He shoots Caleb a thankful glance. “It’s been a bit lonely up in the cabin as of late.”

  
Caleb nods, taking in his friend’s demeanor and choice of words. He pats Toby’s right shoulder. “Well, not to worry. I’m here, we’re going to spend a great couple of days together and… that’s pretty much the mission, ok? For us to have all the fun we possibly can. We’re going to drink beer, play video games and eat all the pizza we can find. Does that sound good?” He shoots Toby a hopeful grin.

  
Toby nods vigorously, and he tries to smile as well, but doesn’t manage to. Instead, he laughs. “I’m still kind of shocked that you’re here,” he says, so lightly that Caleb doesn’t think he’s meant to hear it. But he does, and yet again, his heart feels like it could break.

  
To Caleb, Toby has been a personal lighthouse. He’s been there when nobody else has, and he’s understood things about Caleb that not even Hanna could. Ravenswood comes to mind randomly, as they’re driving past the Rosewood town limits and directly into the hellmouth that was their home for a long, long time.

  
“Don’t be,” Caleb says softly, grabbing one of Toby’s hands and squeezing it. “It’s what friends do.”

  
He hears Toby take in a deep breath. It’s shaky, and a closer look reveals that a single tear has managed to escape from its confines within Toby and joined them in the outside world.   
Caleb doesn’t wipe it away, but he’s surprised to find that he’d like to.

* * *

  
The cabin is, surprisingly, well kept. 

  
Caleb had been secretly expecting it to be a mess, considering that Toby is perpetually on the move and in town instead of home, working on the myriad of projects he continuously takes on. But no, everything seems to be perfectly organized, from his movies to his video games and liquor.

  
They break out the horror movies and liquor almost an hour after they arrive, after they’re done setting Caleb up in the one bedroom in the cabin.

  
“I hope you don’t mind sharing the bed,” Toby jokes, bringing out several pillows from a nearby closet. There’s a liveliness in his face that hadn’t been there a while ago and Caleb is glad. “If you do, you can sleep on the couch.”

  
“Asshat!” Caleb hisses, but he’s laughing, as is Toby.

  
They settle down in the living room and decide to watch _The Thing_ , after Toby explains he’s not in the mood to watch anything approaching the realms of meta horror. 

  
“After _-A_ , there’s only so many horror movies one can watch about being stalked in the dead of night without it feeling like we’re inviting something back in,” Caleb agrees cheekily, then proceeds to pop in the DVD onto Toby’s magnificent set up.

  
They go through two wine bottles before the movie reaches the one-hour mark. They begin talking, Caleb first, about how much he’s enjoying his business taking off and how different his life is now. Toby listens intently, happy for his friend, then he joins in and talks about the joy he gains from the construction jobs he’s been taking.

  
“I like putting things together,” Toby says, and there’s a look in his eyes, a pain he can’t hide. Not from Caleb anyway. Not when they’ve been through so much together. “It’s almost like an antidote to everything that’s happened.”

  
Caleb begins to say something. Silly words, really, meant to comfort Toby. Halfway through, though, he gives up and ends up coming closer, bringing his lips to Toby’s. 

  
It’s random, completely unexpected. In the back of his head, Caleb wonders if this is the wine coursing through his veins, or if he’s just acting on an attraction that had been there already, buried in his subconscious.

  
It doesn’t matter. For the longest time- or so it feels like for both men – their lips caress each other. Then, Toby parts his lips, and Caleb’s tongue is inside his mouth, exploring and teasing him, all at once. 

  
They get closer in the sofa, face to face, chest to chest. Hands fly over each other’s bodies, exploring vigorously, and both men groan, delighting in the exquisite touches they’re giving each other. Caleb is the one to break the connection, to pull away from random fire they’ve started, out of a very human necessity: breathing.

  
They’re both silent for a few seconds, taking in what just took place.

  
“If you wanna stop-” Caleb begins. 

  
“I don’t,” Toby replies quickly. His left hand rises, comes towards Caleb’s face. He traces Caleb’s lips, slowly at first, then a bit more confidently, tracing both the upper and lower lips. Tentatively, he inserts a thumb into the hacker’s mouth.

  
Not breaking their eye contact, Caleb sucks on Toby’s thumb, then his index finger, and soon enough, he’s got three fingers in his mouth, three fingers he’s sucking on obscenely. He watches Toby’s face get flustered, hears his breathing pick up. It’s a beautiful sight. An intoxicating, erotic sight.

  
“Fuck,” Toby says, withdrawing his fingers unexpectedly. 

  
“Fuck, indeed,” Caleb says. He looks towards the hall. “Do you want to-”

  
“Yes, please,” is Toby’s husky reply, and they’re both on their feet rapidly, marching towards the sole bedroom in the cabin Toby’s made his home.

  
Caleb locks the door behind him, more of a habit than a conscious thought. Still, he doesn’t want them to be interrupted, as unlikely as it is. This thing that’s currently happening, this charge that’s come alive between them… it’s special. 

  
Caleb looks at Toby, who’s taken off his shirt and is in the process of unbuckling his belt. The carpenter looks… alive, for one. Different. Caleb wonders if this is what it will take to bring the Toby he knows and loves back from the dead.

  
_If it i_ s, Caleb thinks to himself, _then I think I can give it to him_. 

  
All Caleb wants, he reasons, is for Toby to be well and happy. If this is the way for him to find some sort of peace, for him to feel whole again, then so be it. Caleb is neither the judging type, nor the close-minded type either. 

  
“Do you plan on getting naked too, or is it that just something I’m doing?” Toby asks, and his tone, god, his tone, it’s just like it was before. A perfect blend of Bo Radley and James Dean. It brings a smile to Caleb’s lips, and at the speed of light, he disposes of his clothes as well and joins Toby in bed.

  
Caleb finds himself taking control, pinning Toby down and kissing him. He’s gentle at first, then leans towards roughness, delighting in the sounds he elicits from his best friend. Toby’s entire body seems to be a live wire; a kiss here, a pinch there, and he’s mewling like a cat, responding to Caleb’s every ministration. It’s heaven on Earth. 

  
“Caleb?” Toby asks suddenly. 

  
Caleb’s head rises from Toby’s chest, ceasing to press kisses and suck on his nipples for the time being. “Yeah?” 

  
Toby looks at him with the most innocent expression on his face. “Would you fuck me? If you don’t want to, it’s fine, we can just keep doing this, or-”

  
Caleb rises, brings himself up to head level with Toby and presses a soft, chaste kiss on the carpenter’s lips. “Of course. Now, shut up and don’t worry. I’m here to give you anything, and everything, you want.”

  
Toby smiles at Caleb, truly smiles at him, then nods. “Ok.”

  
Caleb manhandles Toby, helping him shift positions. He puts Toby on his hands and knees, facing towards the wall. For a moment, Caleb is blown away by the sight, yet again in awe of how beautiful Toby is.

  
The carpenter’s body, toned and slightly muscular from all the physical labor Toby has and continues to engage in, is a masterpiece. Caleb thinks back to English lit, to the tales of Greek gods and their magnificent physiques, perpetually preserved in art. It seems to Caleb that Toby must be just that; art come to life. There is no other way to describe the beauty, the absolute transcendence, that is his best friend, naked before him.

  
Spreading Toby’s round cheeks apart, Caleb is gifted with a view of a slightly hairy and deliciously pink hole. He’s on it within seconds, teasing the rim first, then beginning to tease Toby with his tongue by probing deeper and deeper. 

  
“Fuck! Ugh, Caleb, please!” Toby cries, pushing his ass back against Caleb’s hot tongue. 

  
“Please what?” Caleb asks, pulling away briefly. Before Toby can complain about the lack of action, he brings a finger into the eager hole, shoving it in deeply. Toby’s hole takes it, all the way up to the knuckle.

  
“Shit, fuck! Please, don’t stop!”

  
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Caleb growls. He adds another finger, then its three, scissoring the former cop open. Toby’s a wreck, moaning and rocking back against Caleb’s fingers wildly.   
Once Caleb’s sure that he’s stretched Toby enough, he removes the fingers. He comes closer to Toby, settling on his knees behind him and teasing his best friend’s hole with his hot, throbbing prick.

  
Toby looks over his shoulder. He catches a glimpse of what’s happening, taking it in with hungry eyes. “Yes, please! Fuck me, Caleb. Fuck my ass.” Toby’s voice, raw with desire, is exactly what Caleb needs.

  
He presses the head in first, thinking that he needs to be careful with Toby. To his surprise, the carpenter moans softly at the pressure, then throws his entire ass onto Caleb’s prick, swallowing it whole in one go.

  
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Toby cries as moves his hips back and forth, fucking himself with Caleb’s prick.

  
It takes Caleb a few seconds to register what is happening; his senses completely overwhelmed by the sensation of Toby’s warm, wet hole sucking him in. It’s delicious, terribly so, and once he regains an awareness of himself beyond the sheer pleasure rocking his body, Caleb grabs Toby by the hair and stars meeting his thrusts, fucking his best friend to his heart’s content.

  
Noticing Toby’s cock, hard and leaking precum onto the bedsheets blow them, Caleb reaches down, bringing his chest against Toby’s sweaty, slippery back, and grabs the hard member. With each fiery thrust he takes into Toby he strokes his cock too, and within seconds, Toby is nothing but a blubbering mess beneath him. 

  
“Caleb, I think I’m gonna come,” Toby lets out in between moans. He doesn’t stop rocking back and forth, arching his back as if he could melt into Caleb.

  
Caleb kisses the back of Toby’s neck. “Do it, babe,” he whispers in Toby’s ear. “Come for me.”

  
Toby comes first, blowing his load onto his stomach and the sheets beneath them. Caleb follows, the sensation of Toby’s walls squeezing his prick sending him over the edge. He comes inside Toby, and the moment Toby feels hot, liquid seed filling his guts, he moans some more.

  
They lay together afterwards, side by side in the soiled bed. Caleb wonders, as time passes and minutes become an hour, where they’ll go from here. If this will change anything. 

  
As if he knows what Caleb is thinking, Toby moves, coming closer to his best friend. He presses a kiss on Caleb’s forehead, then his lips.

  
“What was that for?” Caleb asks, smiling despite the nerves he feels. 

  
Toby returns the smile, and it’s a true Toby smile this time, no pain underlying it. He gives Caleb another peck on the lips. Then he shrugs, nonchalantly. “It’s what friends do.”


End file.
